San Mateo, CA, January 5, 2012 –– One hundred nineteen assisted living communities in 24 states across the United States rank as the “Caring Stars” of 2012, a new nationwide designation based on consumer ratings and reviews recognizing service excellence. >>> Read more . . .

About 66 million Americans take care of a parent, spouse, relative or other loved one. Roughly a third also are raising children, according to the nonprofit National Alliance for Caregiving.

So many posts, 2011 was such a short year. For those of you news junkies or folks with too many Google alerts, like me you must be drowning in recaps of the 2011 best movies, worst mistakes, top tech this, worst tech that. So as the year rapidly slips to a close, I thought I'd recap the most read posts from Aging in Place Technology Watch written during 2011, beginning, not so cleverly, from the beginning of the year: >>> Read more . . .

Sharpening the end of life discussion. Jane Gross published a New Old Age blog this week in the NY Times called Mad as Hell. The gist of it was about how retired Boston Globe columnist Ellen Goodman is starting up the "Conversation Project, one of many nascent efforts to make the rigors of caregiving and advanced old age into a kitchen-table issue — not just a topic for policy wonks and health care professionals." Ellen and Jane are talking about 'family caregiving'. Something is not quite right, though, about this article and other 'conversations' that depend on first stating the facts about seniors and where they live, what they live on, and who takes care of them. >>> Read more . . .

Being a caregiver is the toughest job that no one ever talks about.

According to the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, more than 65 million Americans are caregivers to family members with a vast array of illnesses, including Alzheimer’s disease, advanced diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and many others. >>> Read more . . .

An AARP Bulletin article about the risks for caregivers who discuss their circumstances with employers.

SHELTON, Conn., Sept. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- LifeCare®, Inc., a national provider of personal productivity and loyalty solutions with nearly 30 years experience, is reporting explosive year-over-year demand for its backup care program. Member requests and utilization for the first six months of 2011 were four times greater than the same six-month period in 2010. >>> Read more . . .

A 'new' problem drawn from a two-month old study about lost work hours caregiving for aging parents.

AARP: The cost of taking care of Mom and Dad.

Two disruptive technologies now in one company -- Skype and Kinect.  Looking back at the past year of technologies that could make a difference in the lives of older adults, I have often thought that Skype and Kinect, not smartphones and tablets, might be the two most significant. Skype because it brings long distance families together (so many examples!) and Kinect because it enables an interaction without the limitations of a mouse, keyboard, or controller. Now both of these are Microsoft's -- and once they've figured out how to commercialize them, we can expect Microsoft, as they have throughout their history, to treat them like platforms for a broad ecosystem of willing partners to extend into new applications.  And therefore, there will be apps that make a difference in the lives of older adults. >>> Read more . . .